‘Clerks III’ Film Review: Kevin Smith Tackles Aging and Mortality, But Also Weed Jokes, in Nimble Threequel
thewrap.comlampshades when Randal and his own D.P. talk about how they’re going to shoot his movie. But lampshading a problem and fixing it are two different things, and it’s hard to shake the sense that “Clerks III” is significantly less cinematic than a film Smith produced for the price of a mid-sized sedan back in the early 1990s.The finale of “Clerks III” is genuinely heartwarming and thoughtful, with a generous application of dorky humor for flavor.
Very much the Smith aesthetic. But the film’s actual conclusion, during the closing credits, is either a profound attempt to completely demolish all cinematic pretense once and for all, or it’s a shockingly lazy attempt to give the film two very different final moments instead of actually committing to a single narrative decision.
Frankly, with Smith, whose loosey-goosey filmmaking approach sometimes straddles the line between charming and half-assed, it’s hard to tell.So let’s call it like it is: “Clerks III” is serious to a minor fault and breezy to a minor fault.
It’s got all the same laid-back, chill vibes cinema that Smith is well-known for, and the same immature approach to genuine maturity that he’s also known for, with a new sense of emotional severity that makes it harder to laugh than it probably should be. “Clerks III” is, if nothing else, “A Kevin Smith Film,” into which he has clearly poured his heart, his soul, his good intentions, and his disarming sense of whimsy.
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